Governor appoints former Lee commissioner to fill Bob Janes' seat

LEE COUNTY - Lee County's newest commission member is making his second go-around.

On Wednesday evening, Gov. Charlie Crist appointed John Manning, of Cape Coral, to take the open seat in Lee County's District 1.

Manning, 60, is a former two-term Cape Coral council member and Lee commissioner. He served 12 years on the commission, starting in 1988 when he was appointed by Gov. Bob Martinez.

"As a long-time resident of Lee County with 18 years of public-service experience, John is ready to step onto the county commission and begin working immediately," Crist said in a prepared release. "I am confident he is committed to ensuring Lee County continues to be a great community for families and businesses."

Manning has worked since 2000 as a consultant in the Fort Myers office of Malcolm Pirnie, a firm specializing in resource stewardship, environmental planning and waste management. Before that, he worked as a corporate benefit consultant in the public and private sector. He received a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in Boston.

He said Wednesday he is "gratified" that Crist chose him, and pointed to his own years of service as his strongest trait.

The seat has been vacant since March, when Commissioner Bob Janes passed away after 10 years of service. He was 78.

Manning was one of five people to interview for the vacant seat, and one of 29 applicants. The seat is open to an election in November, and the finalists for the governor's appointment also represent the five qualified candidates seeking the voters' approval to hold the seat for the next four years.

In August, Chris Berardi, Bob Chilmonik and Mike Jackson will run against Manning in the Republican primary for the seat. Carla Brooks Johnston, the fifth candidate, is running with no party affiliation.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Berardi was matter-of-fact about the reason he believes he was passed over.

"I'm not completely surprised by that, because I'm probably the most conservative candidate and our governor doesn't fit that mold anymore," Berardi said.

However, if Crist were to pick someone who better fits at least his political affiliation, it would have been Johnston.

Johnston said she filed her application as a no-party-affiliated candidate for the open commission seat prior to Crist's announcement in April that he would run with no party affiliation in his bid for the U.S. Senate seat.

Manning, who was in a campaign meeting Wednesday when he got the news, said he would continue to run his campaign "like we're two runs down in the ninth inning."

In spite of a strong anti-incumbent mood in the country, Manning said he doesn't believe that his spot on the board would make him a target for voters upset with the status quo.

"I've been off the board for nine years, so I'm not a career politician," Manning said.

His four opponents have experience of one form or another in local government.

Berardi, 38, is a Realtor and a former Cape Coral City Council member from March 2007 to November 2007.

Chilmonik, 56, is a former two-term Lee County School Board Member, who resigned last month from the board to run for the commission seat after a miscommunication about paperwork deadlines.

Jackson, 62, is a former economic development director for the city of Cape Coral, where he served from 2003 to 2008.

Johnston, 70, a former Sanibel City Council member and mayor, challenged Janes to his District 1 seat in the 2008 election.

Commission Chairwoman Tammy Hall said Manning's input will be welcome after four months without a fifth commissioner.